


The Rush

by NainThePain



Category: Runaways (Comics), Runaways (TV 2017)
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Powers, Based on a JJ Wilde Song, But you should totally listen to it anyways, Drunken Confessions, F/F, Getting Together, I don't know if anyone knows who that is, I like her songs, JJ Wilde - The Rush, She's a Canadian rock artist, The Rush, You don't need to know the song for the fic though
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-14
Updated: 2021-02-28
Packaged: 2021-03-15 06:46:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 14,123
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29431923
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NainThePain/pseuds/NainThePain
Summary: When Karolina wakes up with a pounding hangover and broken memories of a night filled with drunken confessions and too much alcohol, she worries that her relationship with Nico might never be the same again.But maybe if she pretends that everything's fine, things might just go back to normal, right?Based on the song "The Rush" by JJ Wilde.
Relationships: Karolina Dean/Nico Minoru
Comments: 14
Kudos: 64





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fic was inspired by JJ Wilde's The Rush. (I know I mentioned it in the tags and the description, but it's important to cite your sources, kids!)
> 
> I will be updating Sundays, I hope you enjoy it!

Karolina wakes up to a splitting headache. 

It takes her a second to remember the events of last night, but once they start coming back to her, bit by bit, the panic begins to settle in quickly. 

She rolls over onto her back, fabric shifting uncomfortably against her skin, as a few disjointed memories flit through her mind faster than she can grab onto them. She’s still wearing her dress from last night- the red one that always makes her feel so confident, and that she swears has Nico looking at her just a little differently. 

She remembers dancing, and alcohol- lots of alcohol. She remembers stumbling back to the hotel late last night, holding Nico tight against her side. She remembers-

She bolts upright in bed, which is a mistake if her pounding head has anything to say about it, but she does her best to ignore the feeling as she tries to place her surroundings in the hopes of putting together the missing pieces from last night, the blurry memories swimming around her skull threatening to tell a story she doesn’t want to hear. 

She’s in her hotel room, which is surprisingly intact considering the night she and her friends just had. Chase is sprawled out across the couch, still fast asleep, which is odd considering she was supposed to be sharing a room with Nico.

“Chase?” she asks groggily, and the boy on the couch stirs, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes as he turns towards her. 

“Karo, hey,” he responds, his voice scratchy. “You’re up. How are you feeling?”

“Like I got hit by a truck,” she groans in response, collapsing back onto the bed as Chase gives her a sympathetic look. 

“You look like it too,” he adds, and Karolina shoots him a halfhearted glare before burying her head in the pillows. 

“Here,” he says after a minute, handing over a glass of water and some pain meds. “You drank a lot last night, and you look like you could use these.”

“Thanks,” she says, quickly taking both offered items as Chase takes a seat on the edge of the bed. 

“Where’s Nico?” she asks after she’s swallowed the pills, glancing over at the boy next to her and then wincing as the movement only makes her head pound harder. 

“Uh, right… About that…” Chase starts almost nervously, rubbing the back of his neck with a hand. “How much do you remember?”

Karolina blinks, feeling her briefly forgotten panic returning full force at the reminder of what few memories she’d managed to grab onto so far. 

She remembers leaving the hotel with her friends clearly, the five of them piling into a cab and heading to the club that Karolina had been dying to check out ever since she and Nico had walked by it on the second day of their trip. 

She remembers them arriving, the deep bassline of the music pounding so loud that she could feel it all throughout her body as they made their way inside. 

She remembers Nico, never fully comfortable in a place as crowded and loud but still willing to come just because Karolina had asked, holding tightly onto her hand as they made their way towards the bar. 

And then she remembers the drinks. So many drinks. And then there was dancing, and she had managed to pull Nico out onto the dance floor with her, and then there was more dancing and then- oh god, there was definitely _grinding._

Pulled roughly out of her head by the sudden decision that maybe she doesn’t _want_ to remember everything that happened last night, she looks at Chase with wide eyes. 

She buries her face in her hands then as the boy watches her sympathetically, and after a couple minutes of fog, pain, and broken memories swirling around in her head, she finally breaks the silence. 

“I came out,” she says quietly, chancing a glance at Chase’s face as she does, relief washing over her when she’s met with the same love as he’s always had for her. 

“You did,” he replies, just as quietly, a kind smile on his face and Karolina groans at the confirmation. 

“I know that’s probably not how you wanted to do that, but for what it’s worth, I’m proud of you,” he offers, and she smiles weakly, moving over slightly so she can fall into Chase’s arms, shutting her eyes tightly to block out how bright the room still seems to be as strong arms wrap around her in a reassuring hug. 

She’s not sure how long they stay like that, but eventually the water and the meds help enough that Karolina feels less like her head is made of cotton, the memories from last night becoming clearer, and she slowly sits up again, away from Chase’s reassurance and warmth. 

“Hey, it’s okay,” the boy says gently, rubbing her shoulder reassuringly and it takes her a second to figure out why- she didn’t realize she was crying until a tear rolls off her cheek and onto her dress, leaving a small water mark where it lands. 

“I think I messed up, Chase,” she sniffles quietly, wiping at her cheeks as she tries, and fails, to get the tears to stop. 

“What do you need?” he asks, like he always does when she’s upset, and Karolina’s so very thankful for how well he knows her in this moment. 

“I need to be alone, I think,” she mumbles, and Chase nods, quickly standing and pressing a friendly kiss to the top of her head. 

“Okay,” he nods, as he heads towards the door. “But Karo?” he calls back, waiting until she looks up at him before he continues. “We all love you though. _All_ of us. Just remember that, please.”

And then he’s gone, shutting the hotel room door quietly behind him, and Karolina flops back onto the bed, staring at the ceiling with unseeing eyes. 

She’s still not entirely sure where she went wrong last night. 

But she went wrong. 

And while everything’s still kind of fuzzy, she’s pretty sure she just messed things up with Nico, her best friend, her favourite person in the entire world, and she doesn’t know how to fix it. 

Inexplicably, her mind goes to her mother then, and she’s beyond grateful that the woman can’t see her right now, because she knows she’s just one disappointed look away from not being able to keep it together anymore. 

...Not that she’s doing such a great job of keeping it together as is. 

She waits a few minutes as memories she doesn’t want slowly come back to her, before she finally stands, stripping off her dress and heading to the bathroom. 

Pretty soon she’s in the shower, the hot water soothing her skin and her mind, and she lets out a relieved sigh as she focuses on the feeling of the water hitting her body. 

She washes off the remnants of last night, before she finally sighs and leans her forehead against the cool tile wall. 

She loses track of time, but at some point the feel of the tiles against her forehead and the heat of the water hitting her has her feeling almost able to function, and her head finally clears just enough for her to grab on tight to the memories that had been floating around, just out of reach. 

She remembers the rush of the alcohol flowing through her veins, the adrenaline only brought on by being in the midst of all the noise, all the flashing lights, all the people, lost in the night like she was. 

She turns so the droplets of hot water can hit her face, washing off the last remnants of her makeup that she hadn’t managed to get off the first time around, and she can’t help her sharp intake of breath as she remembers more. 

Nico, her hair down and her makeup even darker than usual. 

Nico, laughing happily and carefree as Karolina twirls her on the dance floor. 

Nico, pressed up close against her. 

Nico, her ass grinding against Karolina and-

_Nope._

She’s not going there. 

Keeping her eyes firmly shut, Karolina reaches out blindly for the faucet, turning the dial to cold and letting the freezing water wash over her overheating body. 

Well that was… _something_ all right. 

She’s not entirely sure what to do with that memory. 

Surely it was just lust, right? She was drunk, and turned on, and Nico was too, and it just… _happened._

Because surely she doesn’t have feelings for Nico. 

Those were just drunk Karolina’s thoughts, and surely those can’t be trusted. 

It’s the rush, it’s the _lust_ , she can’t trust. 

She can trust her feelings now though, right?

And when she thinks of Nico now, sober, if rather hungover, it’s just as a friend. Not- not as anything more. 

Sure, thinking back on her memories of last night, dancing with Nico, if what they had been doing could even be called _dancing_ , had made her feel… _certain things._

But-

She just-

It doesn’t-

A strangled sob escapes her throat then, and before she has time to realize what’s happening, she’s crying again, her salty tears mixing with the cold water running down her face as she sinks to sit on the cold floor of the tub. 

_God_ , does she regret last night. Ruining the best relationship in her life because she was drunk and couldn’t keep it in her pants. 

She came out to all her friends, grinded in front of everyone with her best friend, and-

Oh no. 

Oh _fuck._

She told Nico how she felt. 

She _fucking_ told Nico that she was in love with her. 

Because her drunk self, the rush of adrenaline pounding in her veins, couldn’t tell the difference between lust and love. 

She doesn’t remember all the details, but she remembers more than enough to get the gist of the exchange. 

And now Nico’s switched rooms with Chase, and probably never wants to see her again. 

Another ugly sob escapes her throat at that, and she just wants to forget it, forget all of it, go back to how it was before, before she was out, before she had gone and confused her feelings, except-

_Had she?_

Somehow, sitting on the floor of a hotel shower, cold water droplets pelting her huddled form, Karolina feels like she can see things clearly for the first time in years. 

Because yeah, while maybe she can’t trust the rush, or the lust, or whatever the hell it was that had her confessing last night, there are a lot of things she _can_ trust. 

She can trust the warmth that she feels stirring in her chest on quiet nights in with Nico, both of them curled up under the same blanket as they watch a movie, Nico slowly nodding off against her shoulder. 

She can trust the way that seeing Nico smile can make a bad day seem not quite so bad, and how it feels like her heart lights up when that smile is directed at her. 

She can trust the way that whenever a sleepover results in them sharing a bed, and she wakes up tangled up with Nico, her heart pounds out of her chest and she feels like she can’t breathe, but she’d never give the feeling up for anything. 

But most of all, she can trust the fact that when she thinks of Nico, she feels like _home._

So yeah. 

Maybe drunk Karolina wasn’t all that off.

She _is_ in love with Nico. 

Another sob escapes her mouth then, only it isn’t a sob, but a laugh. 

A broken, sleep-deprived, hungover, possibly slightly hysterical laugh. 

Because _god_ , how could she be such an idiot?

Eventually, she does get up off the shower floor, drinking another glass of water and finally feeling like it’s just a matter of time before she’s an actual human being again. 

She gets dressed slowly, feeling a bit better from having cried it out, but still wholly unsure as to how she’s ever going to be able to face Nico again. 

She just finished getting dressed for the day, her wet hair still dripping down her back as she reaches for the hairdryer, when she hears a quiet knock at the door, and her stomach flips at the thought of who it might be. 

She half expects to be wrong, and to find Chase back asking how she’s doing and offering her a hug, or Gert awkwardly checking in because Chase had sent her, or even Victor, who she’s honestly never actually been that close to, not after his brief stint as Nico’s boyfriend, and really why that is makes a whole lot more sense now. 

But she isn’t. She’s right. 

Nico, with minimal makeup and a nervous smile as she stares at her feet is standing in the hallway outside her room, and Karolina only stands there awkwardly at the door for a few seconds before she blinks herself back to reality and quickly invites Nico inside. 

“So…” Nico says from the other side of the open bathroom door, Karolina meticulously blow drying her hair, making sure that each strand is absolutely devoid of water before moving onto the next, thankful to have an excuse to not face Nico directly, even if it makes her feel like a bit of a coward. 

“How are you feeling?” the other girl asks, continuing when Karolina isn’t quick enough to come up with an answer that Nico won’t see right through. “You went pretty hard last night. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you drink that much.”

“Yeah,” she eventually settles on, wincing at how lame the reply sounds, even to her own ears, and she quickly elaborates. “I got a little carried away. I had a nasty hangover this morning. Or I still do, I guess, but the worst of it’s over.”

“Oh, okay,” Nico nods, the bed squeaking as she swings her feet where she sits. “How much do you, uh, what do you remember?”

Karolina freezes at that, potential responses playing through her head. 

_I remember spending the night with you by my side, and never wanting to let you go._

_I remember what it feels like to have your ass grinding against me, and I can’t stop thinking about it._

_I remember telling you I love you, and I just realized I actually meant it._

“I remember… bits and pieces,” she finally settles on, because she’s an idiot and a coward, and all she wants to do is learn to forget, because it’s easier than to live with the regret that's currently brewing in her stomach. 

And right now, she’s just trying to keep it together. 

“Oh,” Nico says, almost disappointedly, except not, because what would she have to be disappointed about?

Her hair now sufficiently dry, Karolina takes a deep breath, bracing herself against the counter. 

She might be able to lie her way out of some memories, but she knows there’s one she can’t hide from, not anymore. 

“I came out,” she breathes, hardly loud enough for anyone to hear, but Nico does, she always does, and her head snaps up and she’s meeting Karolina’s eyes in the bathroom mirror. 

“Yeah,” Nico nods, clearly waiting for the blonde to continue, and after a few seconds she does. 

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner. It wasn’t that I didn’t trust you, I just…” she trails off, unable to maintain the eye contact, but suddenly Nico’s standing, hesitantly coming closer, as if she’s not sure Karolina will welcome her presence, and the drastic shift in their dynamic has Karolina suddenly close to tears. 

Just yesterday, Nico wouldn’t have wasted a second in coming over and wrapping Karolina in a tight hug, hooking her chin over her shoulder and allowing for the taller girl to press her face into Nico’s hair as they hold each other impossibly close. 

But now, Nico just stands there, just outside the bathroom, looking exactly as uncomfortable as Karolina feels, and she hates it. She hates what she’s done, and she just wants to take it all back, forget it, pretend like it never happened. 

“You have nothing to apologize for,” Nico says, her voice unwavering even as her eyes shine with unshed tears. “You don’t have to tell anyone unless you want to, not even me. I’m sorry that it happened like it did.”

“It’s okay,” Karolina manages, barely above a whisper. “I’m glad you know now.”

“I support you,” Nico says. “I always will.”

And Karolina knew theoretically that her being a lesbian wouldn’t change things between them- she has her unprompted confession of love that she has now lied about not remembering to thank for the new awkwardness in their relationship- but she still feels relief at Nico’s words, and turns around to offer the girl in question a small smile. 

“Thank you,” she says genuinely, and Nico nods in answer. 

“We’re all meeting downstairs for food in a few minutes,” the shorter girl explains, and Karolina can feel her stomach flip at the mention of food, and she’s about to decline when Nico raises a disapproving eyebrow. 

“You need to eat,” she states plainly, and Karolina just nods, her throat suddenly dry from the command in Nico’s voice, and yeah, she’s definitely gay. 

Grabbing her phone and pulling on her shoes, Karolina follows Nico out of the hotel room and towards the elevator. 

This is fine. 

Soon enough she’ll be back in her room, and she can figure out a long term plan, other than desperately pretending to not be in love with Nico and lying about whether or not she remembers admitting said love to said Nico. 

All she has to do is make it through lunch. 

—————

She is not going to make it through lunch. 

They’re only twenty minutes in and already she’s excused herself to the washroom, where her friends probably think she’s busy emptying her stomach of last night’s activities while in reality she’s pretty close to the worst panic attack she’s had in a long time. 

Since before Nico had figured out how to help her breathe through them, and anchor her until she could. 

But, she reminds herself, she doesn’t have Nico anymore, not after last night, and considering the awkwardness of their conversation this morning, likely never again. 

But she’s resolutely _not_ about to cry in the women’s washroom at some random hotel that they can only afford thanks to their parents generously agreeing to pay for the trip, so she focuses on her breaths until she hears the bathroom door swing slowly open and the thud of an all too familiar pair of boots as they make their way across the tile towards her. 

“Hey Karrie, you’ve got to get out here, Victor just bet Chase that he could eat more appetizers than he could and now they’re about to be idiots about it but it’s probably going to be funny so-” Nico says as she makes her way over to her, cutting off abruptly when she sees Karolina’s expression in the mirror. 

“Hey, _hey_ , what’s wrong?” she says quickly, her previous train of thought seemingly forgotten as she rushes over, quickly taking the blonde’s hands in her own. 

Karolina just stares at her for a long moment, wondering what she could have possibly done to deserve a best friend like Nico, who even after everything is rushing to her side the moment she needs her. 

She decides then and there that she’s going to do whatever it takes to get their friendship back to what it was before, because as much as it hurts to have Nico like this and not how she really wants her, it would hurt so much more to not have her at all. 

And then Nico’s hugging her, hooking her chin over her shoulder and Karolina automatically inhales the scent that makes her feel so safe, the one that is so uniquely _Nico_ , and she closes her eyes and just breathes, her face pressed into the shorter girl’s hair. 

It only takes a few minutes before Nico’s steadying presence and the warm pressure of her arms wrapped around Karolina’s waist has her breathing evening out and when she reluctantly pulls out of the embrace, Nico looks just as disappointed at the loss of contact as she feels. 

Her expression is replaced with worry so quickly though that Karolina’s not convinced that she hadn’t imagined the disappointment in the first place. 

“What’s wrong?” she asks, her voice laced with concern as brown eyes search the taller girl’s face. “It’s been a while since this happened.”

“Sorr-” Karolina starts, before Nico’s raised eyebrow stops her and she swallows the rest of her apology. 

She pauses, taking another deep breath as she tries to figure out what to say. 

She can’t very well tell her that she’s just figured out she’s in love with her, after having drunkenly admitted it last night, which, by the way, she does in fact remember despite having earlier claimed that she did not. 

“I just…” she starts, trailing off uselessly after realizing she has no idea where she’s going with that sentence. 

“Is this about last night?” Nico asks quietly, almost carefully, not quite meeting Karolina’s eyes, but catching her nod anyways, relieved that she doesn’t have to voice it herself. 

“Is it because you came out? Because I can’t imagine what that’s like but you should know that none of us think of you any differently, and we all still lo-” she continues, before Karolina interrupts, unable to hear the word _love_ come out of Nico’s lips without falling apart. 

“It’s not that,” she says quickly, and the shorter girl closes her mouth. “Did I… Did I say something last night? To you?” Karolina tries, inwardly cursing herself for being such a coward, but she needs to clear the air between them even if it’s without acknowledging what actually happened. 

“Uh, I don’t, I mean, I thought you didn’t remember?” Nico stutters, and Karolina’s heart clenches because clearly the other girl had been happy with how things resolved, with her not remembering, but that’s okay. 

It has to be. 

“I don’t! I don’t,” she quickly insists, and Nico nods in relief. “I just feel like I maybe said something dumb, since things were kind of weird between us this morning, and I guess I wanted to apologize.”

“You don’t have to apologize, Karrie,” Nico answers softly, but she won’t look at Karolina’s face. “It’s fine, you were drunk. People say dumb things when they’re drunk. Things they don’t mean.”

“Yeah, yes, they do,” Karolina agrees quickly, eager to be able to write yesterday’s mistakes off as just that- mistakes. “Sometimes people say things that they don’t mean, and then wake up the next morning worried that they ruined everything because they made a stupid mistake, and all they really want is for things to go back to normal,” she rambles, Nico finally meeting her gaze, eyes wide. 

“Right, yeah,” she nods, her throat bobbing as she swallows. “Don’t worry, everything _is_ back to normal. Sorry about this morning, I was just, uh- Anyways, yeah. It was just a mistake.”

“Yeah?” Karolina asks, letting out a sigh of relief when Nico nods her confirmation. 

“Okay great,” she continues, a genuine smile on her face as she finally starts to feel like she didn’t ruin the best thing in her life. 

She had gone this long without realizing she was in love with the girl in front of her, surely she can go back to how things were before. 

She’s just glad that she still has Nico at all. 

“Thank you,” she breathes as she pulls the girl into a tight hug, and she feels Nico stiffen for just a second but then she’s hugging her back just as tightly. 

“Should we head back then?” Karolina asks once they finally break apart, confused at how Nico seems to be staring resolutely at her feet. 

“You go ahead, I’ll be out in a minute,” she responds, gesturing at the stalls behind her. 

“Alright,” the blonde nods, a smile on her face as she heads back to the table, laughing as she sees a groaning Victor and Chase, identical expressions on their faces as they undoubtedly regret the amount of food they’d just consumed, empty plates taking up the entirety of the table's surface. 

A few minutes later Nico rejoins them at the table, her makeup looking like it’s just been touched up, and she offers the blonde a small, reassuring smile as she takes her seat across from her. 

And Karolina thinks that maybe things just might actually be okay after all. 

—————

Things are far from okay. 

Two days later, the night before they’re set to catch the plane back home to Brentwood, Victor announces that they’re going out again, and everyone else seems eager to comply. 

Karolina on the other hand, is less than enthusiastic about the idea, but when Nico smiles hopefully up at her, slipping her hand into the blonde’s, she has no choice but to give in. 

There’s something to be said about the power of persuasion. 

Between what’s right, what’s wrong, what really turns her on- what makes her heart beat faster. 

And right now, Karolina is absolutely positive that she’s headed for a beautiful disaster.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dowding, J & Thaae, F. (2020) The Rush. [Recorded by JJ Wilde.] On Ruthless [MP3 file]. Ontario, Canada: Black Box Recordings Inc.
> 
> (Yes, I am a nerd.)


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you everyone who read, left kudos, and/or commented!!

**_The night before._ **

“How do I look?” Karolina asks, and Nico quickly pulls her eyes away from where she’d been staring at the blonde’s body to meet her eyes in the mirror. 

She can feel a blush spreading across her cheeks at having almost been caught again, but the red dress Karolina’s wearing does something to her, and she just can’t help it. 

Karolina’s always gorgeous, no matter what she’s wearing, and the fact that she never seems to have any idea of this is beyond charming. 

But whenever she puts on this dress, she seems to just _know_ exactly how stunning she looks, and Nico’s poor brain can barely process it. 

All she wants to do is run her hands over the bright red fabric, trailing lower and lower until she reaches the teasingly high hem, and her heart rate picks up as she imagines sliding her hands back up, but this time _underneath_ the dress and-

“Nico?” Karolina asks again, turning towards her and Nico’s breath catches in her throat at the sight of Karolina’s face, her makeup done subtly but at the same time drawing out her best features, and then she’s coughing and spluttering as she tries to get words, _any words_ , to come out of her suddenly dry mouth.

This of course has Karolina, kind, considerate Karolina, coming over to worriedly rub Nico’s back as she finally manages to get air back into her lungs, the blonde’s hand against her back and her new proximity doing nothing to calm her racing heart. 

“I’m okay,” she says once she feels like she can actually speak again. “Sorry about that, I uh, swallowed funny. What was the question again?”

“I asked you what you thought of my outfit, but I think you’ve answered that already,” the blonde teases, and Nico laughs awkwardly. 

“It’s good though, right?” Karolina continues, a hint of nervousness in her voice, her hand on the other girl’s back stilling but not leaving its place, and all Nico wants to do is tell her just how amazing and wonderful and _perfect_ she is. 

“Karrie, you look… You look _stunning_ ,” she breathes, and the blonde’s face turns pink at the compliment, her smile widening. 

“Yeah?” she asks, laughing when Nico nods quickly in confirmation. “Well, you look pretty great too.”

Now it’s Nico’s turn to blush, and she stares at her feet in the hopes that Karolina won’t notice. 

She’s dressed in tight black jeans, and a simple grey shirt that leaves a few inches of stomach exposed, her leather jacket thrown on top. It’s nothing overly fancy, definitely nothing close to how Karolina looks, but Nico does feel good about it. 

“So are you ready to head out? Chase just texted, everyone’s waiting in the lobby,” Karolina says then as she checks her phone, and Nico’s pulled out of her head and back to reality, where the blonde’s still standing impossibly close to her with a hand on her back, the warmth seeping through her jacket and into her skin. 

“Yeah, okay,” the shorter girl nods, a tad too enthusiastically, but she really needs some fresh air, and to not be alone in a hotel room with Karolina’s hand, however innocently, on her, while she’s dressed _like that_. “Let’s go.”

They take the elevator down to meet their friends, and pretty soon they’re all outside and piling into a cab to take them to the club that Karolina’s talked them into visiting. 

Not that it really required much convincing on Nico’s part, all Karolina had to do was look at her and she was in, despite the fact that she generally hates loud, crowded places and having to be close to strangers. 

It’s a quick drive, and pretty soon they’re all climbing out of the cab and heading into the club, Nico trailing a little ways behind to get in one last look at Karolina’s dress before the combination of poor lighting and not enough space makes it harder to appreciate. 

Someone clears their throat beside her and she quickly turns to see Chase smirking at her, winking when their eyes meet, before walking ahead to link his hand with Gert’s, and Nico can feel her cheeks darken. 

...He totally just caught her staring at Karolina’s ass.

Again. 

Okay so _yeah_ , maybe she’s a little bit completely head over heels for her best friend, but can she be blamed? Karolina’s literally perfect, and Nico’s more than happy to have her in her life as her best friend, even if she sometimes fantasizes about them being something more. 

_Especially_ when Karolina wears the red dress. 

But she could never like Nico like that, so she keeps quiet, buries her feelings inside her as best she can, and plays the part of the best friend who isn’t madly in love with her. 

But it’s worth it. 

For Karolina, anything would be worth it. 

Willing her cheeks to return to their normal shade, Nico quickly heads inside, catching up to Karolina and lacing their fingers together in a totally platonic, best friend type of way. 

These places are always a little much for her, with the noise, and the crowds, but she knows she can handle just about anything with Karolina by her side. 

They reach the bar, and Karolina’s already ordering for both of them, not even asking Nico what she wants because she already knows, and Nico smiles fondly at the action. 

Drinks in hand, they make their way over to the table Gert has claimed while Chase and Victor are still waiting for drinks by the bar, sliding into the round booth so that they’re seated side by side. 

And if Nico presses in a little closer than necessary to Karolina’s side, just to torture herself at this point, nobody needs to know. 

The boys get back to the table soon enough, and then everyone’s talking and laughing, and after a couple more trips up to the bar, Karolina, Chase, and Victor decide to brave the overly-crowded dance floor.

“Are you good?” Karolina whispers into Nico’s ear before she slides out of the booth, and the shorter girl has to suppress the shiver that threatens to run down her spine at the hot breath in her ear. “I can stay here if you want. Or you could join me on the dance floor?”

And while Nico’s honestly a little tempted to say yes, just to spend some more time with her favourite person in the world, she shakes her head, turning so that she can whisper her reply back just as quietly.

“I’m good,” she insists. “Go have fun. I’ll be here when you get back.”

“Okay,” Karolina nods, and, just as Nico turns back to face the table, places a quick kiss on the girl’s cheek before she follows the boys into the crowd of bodies. 

Nico ignores the way her face heats up at the unexpected and _completely platonic_ , as she reminds her traitorous body, show of affection, very aware of the pair of green eyes trained on her from across the table. 

“So, how long?” Gert asks after a moment of silence, which Nico had spent anticipating her attack but still finds herself woefully unprepared for the real thing. 

“I’m sorry?” she asks, already regretting rising to the bait but she knows she has to get this over with sooner or later. 

“How long have you and Karolina been hooking up?” the other girl asks bluntly, and Nico has to work to keep her face neutral, quickly glancing towards the dance floor to make sure that Karolina’s out of earshot. 

“We’re not!” Nico protests then, and Gert grins in response, clearly pleased by her reaction. 

“Could have fooled me,” she deadpans, and Nico fidgets as Gert watches her, amused. 

“Gert, we’re just friends,” she continues, adamant in her stance. “There’s nothing going on between us.”

“Alright,” Gert responds after a pointed silence. “Whatever you say.”

And Nico wants to argue, to insist that she’s telling the truth, because the last thing she wants is for this conversation to somehow get back to Karolina, but she also knows that her continued protests are exactly what Gert’s looking for, and she’ll be damned before she gives her that. 

“Good,” Nico says instead, and Gert’s eyes narrow at her lack of reaction, but thankfully before either of them can say anything else, Chase is sliding back into the booth, smiling and sweaty, his arm automatically going up onto the back of the seat behind Gert’s head, and she leans into the contact. 

“You’re done dancing already?” Gert asks, and Nico’s so very thankful for Chase’s accidental rescue that she doesn’t think to look if the others returned with him. 

“Yeah, I missed you too much,” Chase responds, offering his girlfriend a lopsided grin and a kiss on the cheek, at which Gert promptly rolls her eyes. “Plus it was kind of crowded. We’re going to wait until people start getting too drunk to dance and there’s some more space.”

Gert says something in response, but Nico doesn’t hear what, too distracted by the voice in her ear, Karolina leaning over the back of the booth to whisper to her. 

“Come to the bar with me?” she asks, and this time Nico can’t quite stop the shiver than runs down her spine. 

Gert meets her eyes with a smirk and a raised eyebrow, and Nico’s quick to stand, taking Karolina’s outstretched hand and letting her link their fingers together and pull her towards the bar. 

She’ll deal with Gert later. 

“How are you enjoying your night so far?” Karolina asks, as she manages to find them two unoccupied barstools and flags down the bartender, all without letting go of Nico’s hand. 

“You were only gone for a few minutes,” Nico laughs, and the blonde rolls her eyes with a grin in response. 

“I know that, I just meant in general,” she explains, turning to the bartender to quickly give her drink order, gesturing for Nico to do the same. “I wanted to make sure you were having a good time.”

“I am, don’t worry,” Nico smiles, squeezing their joint hands lightly, and Karolina blushes and releases her fingers from her hold, and Nico tries not to be too disappointed. 

“Okay good. I am, too,” the blonde agrees, and then their drinks arrive and the conversation flows easily between them, just as it always does, Nico nursing her drink as she enjoys the time she gets to spend alone with Karolina, while the blonde keeps ordering more of her sickly sweet, brightly coloured drinks, and Nico’s equally worried about her pancreas and her liver at this point. 

Karolina’s pushing the line between tipsy and drunk by the time Nico’s finished her second drink since they’ve arrived at the bar, making her looser and more carefree than Nico’s seen her in a long while, and her heart clenches at the thought of the weight the other girl has to carry. 

Her mother had put immense pressure on her growing up to be the perfect daughter, and her father hadn’t been any help in making things better, and Nico’s witnessed firsthand the effect this has had on Karolina’s self-confidence. It hurts her to see that even after all this time this happy, carefree version of the blonde only comes out when she’s been drinking. 

Which is probably why Nico finds herself agreeing before the question is even out of Karolina’s mouth. 

“Dance with me, Nico? Please?” she asks, a hopeful grin on her face and Nico’s already nodding in agreement before she really thinks about what she’s agreeing to. 

But then Karolina’s face completely lights up and Nico knows that even if she _had_ thought about it, her answer would have been the same. 

“Yeah, okay,” she confirms, and then Karolina’s grabbing her hand again, intertwining their fingers together and dragging her towards where she can just barely make out the rest of their friends dancing together on the other side of the dance floor. 

“There you two are! I was wondering where you had disappeared to,” Victor says loudly with a broad smile as they reach the group, clearly having made use of the alcohol available for purchase. 

Gert grins at the boy’s words, opening her mouth to say something teasing, and probably at Nico’s expense, and she can feel her cheeks darken in preparation for whatever insinuation the purple-haired girl’s about to make, but thankfully Chase steps in just in time with a meaningful look in Gert’s direction. 

With an eye roll and a huff, the girl resignedly closes her mouth, and Nico lets out a relieved breath as Karolina turns to answer Victor. 

“Sorry, we were just at the bar,” she explains, and Victor nods, and then a new song with a fast rhythm and lots of bass starts up, filling the club with its beat, and Karolina turns excitedly towards Nico. 

“Nico! I love this song!” she says happily, a wide smile on her face. “Dance with me?”

Nico laughs fondly, eagerly complying, because even though she doesn’t like dancing all that much, she definitely likes Karolina enough to make an exception every now and then. 

Eventually the song ends, and the next begins, but the five of them keep dancing through the night, oblivious to time passing as they all enjoy spending time together without the stress of school or parents. 

“Hey there,” a deep voice eventually interrupts, and five heads turn towards a boy around their age, hair slicked back and an eyebrow piercing above his left eye. 

His smile widens as he looks at Karolina in a way that he no doubt thinks is charming, but comes across almost like he’s hunting his prey, and Nico can’t help the wave of protectiveness that washes over her. 

Sure, she’s been ogling Karolina all night, but she’s her best friend! A little innocent staring is well within her right! But this guy has another thing coming if he thinks he’s allowed to do the same. 

“Is your name Lucy in the Sky?” the boy drawls, oblivious to the multiple glares directed his way. “Because you’re so hot I must be trippin.”

Nico can hear Gert’s snort of laughter at the comment, not even trying to hide it, but the boy doesn’t seem to notice if the proud expression on his face is any indication. And while yeah, that was a completely terrible line and under other circumstances she’d be laughing about it too, the only thing Nico can focus on right now is making sure this idiot stays away from Karolina. 

“Keep walking,” she practically growls, stepping forward protectively and putting herself between Karolina and the boy, doing her best to look threatening despite the fact that the boy has a good half a foot on her. 

He laughs in response, but Nico doesn’t back down, crossing her arms across her chest and raising an eyebrow. Ignoring her, the boy looks over her shoulder at where Karolina’s standing and, presumably seeing her disapproving look too, he finally raises his arms in a mocking gesture of surrender before turning around and walking away with a shake of his head. 

“Your loss,” he mutters under his breath, and then a loud peal of laughter has Nico turning around to find Gert clutching her stomach as she’s doubled over in laughter. 

Everyone else joins in quickly, and even Nico cracks a smile when Karolina turns to her with an appreciative grin, her eyes shining with a combination of laughter and alcohol. 

“Thanks,” she says, and Nico just nods, because she’d happily do that for her any time. 

“That was definitely the worst line I’ve ever heard,” Gert says as her laughter finally subsides enough for her to speak again, and Chase nods in agreement. 

“Oh, for sure,” he agrees before turning to Nico. “That was a pretty epic stare down though Minoru. Nicely done,” he nods, and Nico laughs sheepishly, suddenly realizing she may have gotten a tad overprotective just then. 

“That was pretty cool,” Victor adds, laughing as well. “It’s a shame he’s such a jerk though, he’s kind of cute don’t you think?”

Nico’s just tipsy enough that she’s about to concede the boy’s point when Karolina’s response has her freeze in her tracks. 

“Nah, he’s not my type,” the blonde says, and with the way her words are slurred Nico can tell she’s drunker than she’s been since her birthday party last year when she insisted they stay out as late as possible. “I mean, his face is fine I guess. But he’s a boy, so… not my type,” she finishes with a casual shrug that so drastically contrasts the panic that Nico’s currently feeling building in her chest. 

If Karolina doesn’t like boys, could that mean…?

Nico’s throat is suddenly dry and she’s sure her palms are sweating, but her mind is reeling right now and she’s just trying her best not to freak out. 

Because if Karolina’s saying what she thinks she’s saying, and she does in fact like _girls_ , that would mean… Nico has a chance. 

Which is both the most amazing and terrifying thought she has ever had. 

“You mean… you like girls?” she stutters, not realizing she’d even spoken until the words are out, Karolina turning to look at her. 

She’s almost certain she can hear Gert’s snort of laughter in the background but her heartbeat is pounding too loudly in her ears for her to be sure. 

“Oh yeah, definitely,” the blonde nods earnestly, and Nico can’t breathe, because she actually has a _chance_ with Karolina, and it’s going to hurt all that much more when the girl goes off and gets married like she’s going to do eventually, because she’s the most amazing person Nico’s ever met- definitely too good to ever want her. 

“That’s great, Karo,” Chase beams, pulling the girl in question in for a hug. “I’m proud of you.”

Gert and Victor share similar sentiments with Karolina, and Nico does her best to offer her a supportive smile that comes out much closer to a grimace but she really can’t manage anything more at the moment, though thankfully Karolina’s too drunk to notice. 

Another song starts up then, a favourite of many of the clubgoers if the shouts of approval that are let out is any indication, and pretty soon the five of them are back to dancing, only this time Nico’s desperate to get out of her head and get lost in the night. 

“Alright, I think I’m going to go sit down for a bit,” Gert tells them eventually, and Chase nods in agreement. 

“Yeah that sounds good,” Victor confirms, and then they’re looking at Nico and Karolina for their decisions. 

“I think I might grab another drink at the bar,” Nico says quickly, not yet ready to give up on the hecticness of the main area to return to the relative quiet of a table where she can hear herself think. 

“I’ll come too,” Karolina nods, and after they all agree to meet back at the table soon, the two girls find themselves making their way towards the bar. 

The alcohol doesn’t so much make her forget her concerns but instead dulls the panic swirling around inside her, Nico decides after she and Karolina each have a few more drinks in them. But either way, it helps, and Nico’s not about to complain. 

“Should we go find everyone?” Karolina asks as they finish their drinks in a comfortable silence. 

“Not yet,” she answers quickly, because going back to the table means seeing everyone, and seeing everyone means talking, and talking means Gert’s inevitable teasing, which she can usually tolerate but right now she doesn’t think she can handle. 

“I want to dance some more,” she finishes, and if Karolina’s surprised by the out of character request she doesn’t show it, instead smiling broadly before standing, taking a second to find her balance, and then reaching out a hand for Nico to take. 

Silencing the voice in her head that’s been growing quieter the more she has to drink, the one that’s telling her she’s going to regret this, she takes the offered hand and follows the blonde onto the dance floor. 

It’s not long before they’re both lost in the music again, the heady combination of copious amounts of alcohol and her current proximity to Karolina preventing Nico from rational thought- otherwise she may have noticed the way the two girls seemed to be gravitating towards each other as each song bled into the next. 

As it is, she doesn’t notice. Not until Karolina’s hand finds her hip, resting lightly against it as they dance, no more than a foot apart. Nico’s heart rate picks up at the contact, but they’ve done this before, danced together as friends. She knows it doesn’t mean anything more than that. 

And then Karolina grabs her hand and spins her, like she does sometimes when they dance together, and Nico goes with it, allowing herself to be spun, unable to help the smile on her face. But for some unknown reason, the blonde doesn’t follow through on the turn, instead pausing halfway and stopping the shorter girl with her hand returning to her hip. 

And then suddenly there’s a warmth pressed up against her back, Karolina releasing her hand and placing her own against Nico’s other hip, pulling her flush against her body, and Nico can’t quite stop the gasp that escapes her lips at the realization of what’s happening. 

It’s awkward and kind of stilted at first, and the body behind her own tenses and stills after a moment but, at the fear that Karolina’s about to pull away and put an end to whatever the hell is happening right now, Nico’s instincts kick in and she’s grinding back against her best friend. 

She can hear Karolina’s sharp intake of breath at the increased pressure, and Nico must be drunker than she had realized because fuck it, she’s tired of pretending that she doesn’t want this. Because she does. Badly. 

She gets lost in the rhythm of it, in the feel of Karolina’s front against her back, fingers firmly digging into her hips and guiding her as she dances to the music, and she never wants it to end, not when Karolina’s so close that she can feel her breath against her ear, hear her sharp inhale as their bodies press together in a way that seems right like nothing else has before. 

It feels like it’s been hours, but she’s really not sure, by the time their friends find them again, ready to head home. 

Nico and Karolina are both flushed and sweaty now, cheeks pink and hearts racing, looking slightly dishevelled from the close contact, but thankfully even Gert has the tact not to mention it as the five of them head out of the club together, Karolina’s hand slipping into Nico’s and intertwining their fingers seamlessly for the walk back to the hotel. 

—————

“I love you Nico,” Karolina mumbles as the shorter girl helps her into bed, the blonde’s many drinks of the night finally catching up with her, and Nico freezes in her tracks. 

She doesn’t mean it like that. 

Of course she doesn’t, but Nico can’t help the way that her heart flutters at the words, and she has to force a swallow down her suddenly dry throat before she responds. 

“I love you too, Karrie,” she says, hoping that her voice doesn’t waver and betray just how much she really means it. “Now drink this. You’ll thank me in the morning,” she adds quickly, handing the blonde a glass of water. 

“No, Nico,” Karolina says, sitting up as she accepts the water, her expression as serious as it can be in her current drunken state. “That’s not what I meant.”

“What did you mean then?” Nico asks in reply, her voice barely above a whisper now and she can hardly hear it over the sound of own heart. 

“I meant that I _love you_ love you,” the blonde clarifies, her voice full of earnestness as she tries to explain. “I’m _in_ love with you, Nico Minoru.”

And Nico doesn’t know what to do, what to say, what to think, because she’s been dreaming about this moment for years now, believing, _knowing_ , that it was never going to come. 

But now here Karolina is, wonderful, beautiful, _perfect_ Karolina, telling her that she feels the same way, and Nico forgets how to breathe. 

She steps closer slowly, like an invisible force is pulling her forwards, one that she wouldn’t be able to resist if she tried. Their faces are impossibly close now, and Nico watches as Karolina’s tongue darts out to lick her lips as blue eyes flit down to the shorter girl’s mouth. 

Nico’s eyes flutter shut just as their lips are about to meet, and she feels hot breath against her mouth- hot breath that smells strongly of the copious amounts of alcohol Karolina consumed tonight. 

Like a switch has been flipped, Nico’s eyes fly open and she’s stepping back, not stopping until her back hits the wall, her heart pounding in her chest for an entirely different reason now. 

Karolina’s drunk, and even tipsy Nico knows that she won’t be able to recover from kissing the girl in front of her only to find out it was all a drunken mistake. 

That _she_ was just a drunken mistake. 

“Karolina…” she breathes out brokenly, as the blonde looks at her with an expression equal parts confused and disappointed. “We can’t. You’re drunk.”

“I’m not drunk,” she responds, her words slightly slurred, and Nico raises an eyebrow. “Okay, maybe just a little tiny bit. But Nico, I mean it!” she insists. 

And Nico wants so badly to believe her. 

But she knows she can’t. 

“How about this,” she offers tentatively, taking a few steps towards the bed and reaching out to take Karolina’s hands in her own. “If you remember this conversation in the morning, and you still feel the same way, then I’m all yours.”

“You promise?” the blonde mumbles as Nico helps her lay back down, her eyes already fluttering shut as she starts to nod off. 

“I promise,” Nico confirms, a soft smile on her lips as she watched the girl in front of her, and _god_ does she love her. 

As the blonde’s breathing quickly starts to even out as she slips into sleep, Nico presses a gentle kiss to her forehead before pulling the covers up and turning towards the door, a hand catching her wrist before she can get any farther. 

“Nico… Where’re you going?” comes the mumble of a sleepy and drunk Karolina, pulling Nico’s arm towards her. 

“Shh, go back to sleep,” Nico whispers, gently extracting her wrist from the blonde’s grasp. “I think it’s better if Chase stays with you tonight. I’ll come find you in the morning though, don’t worry.”

Taking one last look at a now sleeping Karolina, Nico makes her way out of the hotel room, closing the door quietly behind her, and promptly sinking to the floor. 

She knows she probably shouldn’t be sitting on the floor in the hotel hallway in the middle of the night, but she just needs a minute to collect herself after the night she’s just had.

After what Karolina just told her. 

Because _fuck_ , what she wouldn’t give for her confession to be true, to finally have Karolina in the way she’s wanted her for so long. 

But she knows that’s not going to happen. 

Really she’s just hoping that Karolina won’t remember any of this, so they can just go back to how things were before. 

Because she just knows that if Karolina remembers everything and regrets it, it will _fucking destroy her_.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you everyone who read, left a comment, and/or gave kudos!!
> 
> Thanks for reading!

Karolina has a plan. 

Her friendship with Nico is already strained, and she is in no way willing to risk what’s left of it. Especially not for something as small as a night out dancing. 

And so, she’s come up with a plan to make sure that tonight is not a repeat of the last time they all went out. 

She’s not going to drink. 

She’s not going to stay out late. 

And under no circumstances is she going to confess her undying love for her best friend. 

It’s a simple plan, all things considered, and yet to be honest she’s a little worried about its outcome- but Nico wants her here, even after everything, and she’s not about to turn her down. 

There’s a knock at her hotel room door and then Nico’s poking her head inside- things aren’t quite back to normal between them yet, and Nico hasn’t been staying in the room they’d been sharing, but she still has her keycard. 

“You ready to go Karrie?” she asks, and the blonde takes a breath to steady her nerves before turning around to face the girl, her mouth already open to respond, only for her words to catch in her throat at the sight. 

Karolina herself had decided to opt for a more casual outfit this time, wanting to stay as far away from her previous headspace as possible. She still wanted to look good of course, but she wanted to do so without dressing up- and while leaving what used to be her favourite red dress but which now reminds her of a night she’s trying so hard to forget crumpled at the bottom of her suitcase. 

In the end she had gone with a tight pair of jean shorts that showed off her legs, a tank top, and a yellow flannel with the sleeves rolled up to her elbows. It wasn’t fancy, but she felt good, and the outfit was just what she needed to have the confidence to get through the night sober. 

Nico, on the other hand, had apparently gone the exact opposite route in her choice of clothing, and the result had Karolina’s mouth go dry in record time. 

Her makeup is done even darker than the last time they went out, thick eyeliner and her lips painted black, and Karolina wouldn’t be able to tear her eyes away from the other girl’s mouth if it weren’t for how entirely distracting the rest of her outfit is. 

She’s wearing a tight black dress that fits her body perfectly, showing off just the right amount of skin in all the right places without being too revealing for a Tuesday night at a club, and it’s doing something to Karolina’s poor short-circuiting brain. 

“Nico… Hi,” the blonde breathes when she can finally form words, internally cursing because those were really not the words she was trying to form- she was more going for something along the lines of a complete sentence, and less awed reverence. 

“Uh, hi,” Nico answers, confused, her brow furrowing adorably and Karolina can feel herself blush at her own reaction. “Everything okay?”

“Yeah. Yes,” she nods quickly, desperate to salvage the situation. “Everything’s more than okay.”

“Everything’s more than okay?” the shorter girl responds, eyebrows raised in amusement now, though Karolina can still read her earlier confusion across her face. 

“Yeah… Everything’s _beautiful_. I mean- _you’re_ beautiful. As in you look nice. Your clothes I mean. You have nice clothes,” she stutters in response, wincing because that was once again very much not what she had meant to say. “You look nice.”

Stupid perfect Nico and her stupid perfect face. 

Something unreadable passes over the shorter girl’s (perfect) face at that, her mouth pressing into a straight line as all her amusement falls away. 

“We should go,” she says after a moment’s pause. “Everybody’s waiting downstairs.”

With a quiet, resigned sigh and what is intended to be a steadying breath, Karolina follows Nico as she leads them to the elevator. 

They meet the others in the lobby, and there’s a weird sense of déjà-vu as the five of them pile into a cab and head back to the same club, and Karolina can only hope that it doesn’t set the tone for a repeat of last time, because she’s not sure she’d be able to get through that again. 

Once they arrive at the club, time passes quickly as she focuses on not staring at Nico as all her friends talk happily around the crowded booth, exchanging stories and laughter as Karolina sips on her soda. 

Eventually Chase stands with a flourish, leaning down to offer Gert his hand as he requests a dance in an overly dramatic display complete with an honest to god bow, and the purple haired girl rolls her eyes and laughs even as she accepts the offer. 

And then Nico and Victor are standing as well, and everyone’s heading to the dance floor, so Karolina follows, because she’s not going to mope by herself at the table all evening. She does want to have _some_ fun tonight, and besides, if she stays behind when she could be dancing, Nico would definitely come check on her and she’s not sure she could deal with Nico worrying about her right now, dropping everything just to make her feel better like she always does. 

The five of them dance for a while, Karolina making sure to give Nico plenty of space, but it’s not as fun this time, not with the fear, not without the alcohol to make everything just a little bit pleasantly fuzzy. 

So, a bit surprisingly to everyone but herself, Karolina’s the first to leave the dance floor, grabbing another soda from the bar before settling against a wall a little ways away from where her friends are, contenting herself with simply watching them for the rest of the night. 

And so maybe her eyes are very quickly glued to Nico, the way the colourful lights of the club bounce off of her, the way she moves her body almost hypnotically to the music, the way she grins and laughs as Victor whispers something in her ear, a cheeky smile on his face. 

She’s so wholly distracted by the sight in front of her that she doesn’t notice Gert breaking off from the rest of her friends, leaving Chase with a quick kiss on the cheek, nor does she notice the familiar footsteps of her approach until the purple haired girl has reached her side, casually leaning against the wall next to her and nearly startling Karolina out of her skin. 

“So,” Gert says, crossing her arms as she looks out towards where Karolina had been watching Nico on the dance floor. “What the fuck are you doing?”

The blonde can feel her cheeks heating up at having been caught staring, but she wills the blush back down as she pulls her eyes away from Nico to look at the girl next to her. 

“Nothing,” she responds, but the answer is weak and she knows they both know it. “I just didn’t feel like dancing tonight. No big deal.”

“Uh huh,” Gert responds, her tone dripping with skepticism. “Try again.”

Karolina had really hoped that she would just let it go, but she probably should’ve known better by now. When Gert decides she’s going to fix something, no one can stop her. 

The problem is that this isn't something that can be fixed. 

“Gert, really,” she tries anyways, a pleading edge spilling into her voice that she can’t quite stop. “I’m fine. Just drop it, please.”

Eyebrow raised, the purple haired girl regards her for a long minute before nodding, seemingly deciding something while Karolina shifts nervously under her gaze. 

“Alright then,” Gert says, and the blonde lets out a sigh of relief, because while she knows the other girl’s going to insist on finishing this conversation at some point, at least it’s not right now, and she can wallow in peace. 

“Thank you,” Karolina breathes, turning back to watch their friends continue to dance happily, enjoying the comfortable silence that’s fallen between them. 

Thankfully even Gert respects when she’s really not in the mood to talk about things. 

Usually. 

“So let’s pretend for a second that I actually believe you,” Gert starts, both breaking the silence between them and causing Karolina to tense as she anticipates what’s inevitably coming. 

Because she’s really not looking to talk to anyone about her recently discovered, potentially life-ruining feelings for her longtime best friend just yet. 

“Gert…” she complains, trying to warn the girl away from the topic with her tone. It doesn’t work, of course. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Talk about what?” Gert asks, all faux innocence. “I thought that nothing was wrong? I just wanted to tell you about my friend.”

“Your friend?” the blonde replies, entirely unconvinced as she turns back to look at the girl next to her, raising an eyebrow questioningly. 

“Yep. My friend,” the girl nods, something playing behind her eyes that Karolina doesn’t quite trust. She’s not sure she’s going to like where this conversation takes her, but at this point what choice does she have?

“So I have this friend,” Gert continues after her brief pause. “Let’s call her… _Sister Grimm_.”

“Gert,” Karolina replies, more sternly than she has so far, giving the other girl a warning look, challenging her to continue because really all she wants right now is to make it through the night, and she resolutely does _not_ have the patience for whatever game this girl is playing. 

“Karolina,” she returns, equally as forceful. “I’m trying to tell you something here that you’re going to want to know. Just listen,” she finishes, her voice growing softer by the end, and _fine_. She’ll give her a chance. 

With a huff, Karolina takes another sip of her soda as she turns back to watch Nico again, giving up on her pretenses of doing anything but, and Gert smiles smugly as she turns to watch their friends as well, taking the blonde’s resigned silence as an invitation to continue. 

“So, like I said. Sister Grimm. She has this friend. Let’s call her… _Sparkles_ ,” she says casually, and Karolina rolls her eyes because this is decidedly unsubtle, even for Gert. “The thing is, I’m starting to think that the two of them are absolute fucking idiots.”

The blonde scoffs at that, because sure, maybe _she_ hasn’t been making the best decisions lately, but Nico’s no idiot!

“One of them is stupidly pining for the other, staring at her from the edge of the dance floor instead of having fun with her friends, while the other refuses to talk about the complete breakdown she had the other night after knocking on our hotel room door at three in the morning in tears.”

“What?” Karolina responds abruptly, her head whipping towards the purple haired girl at her words so quickly that she nearly spills what’s left of her soda. 

Gert makes no move to answer though, still staring out at their friends, a fond smirk on her face as she watches her boyfriend’s silly dance moves. 

“You’re talking about Nico right?” the blonde continues, her mind racing as she tries to figure out what could have happened to make _Nico_ of all people go running to Gert’s room in the middle of the night. 

She’s always known Nico cares deeply about things, even if she has her own way of showing it, but outright _crying_ , and even more than that, _her seeking someone out when she’s upset_ are distinctly un-Nico-like events, so yeah, Karolina’s pretty worried. 

And maybe, selfishly, she wonders why it wasn’t her that Nico had sought out. 

Gert turns towards her then, looking at her like she’s just asked her the dumbest question she’s ever heard, her eyebrows raised in amusement. 

“Yes, I am talking about Nico. Did you figure that out all on your own?” she deadpans, but Karolina ignores her tone in favour of continuing her line of questioning. 

“Gert, what happened? Why was Nico upset?” she asks, and the other girl must hear something in her voice that has her face turning sympathetic. 

“I honestly have no idea, but I’m guessing you do. You’re the only thing she cares about enough to get that sort of reaction out of her.” Gert replies, looking towards Karolina pointedly and causing the taller girl to look away before continuing. “I’m not going to ask you what happened, that’s none of my business, but you should know, the way you look at Nico, she looks at you the same way.”

It’s like Karolina’s brain short-circuits at that. 

Because there’s no way that Gert could be saying what she thinks she’s saying. 

“What?” she stutters, the word broken by the shard of hope that just pierced her heart. 

“Karolina, that girl has feelings for you. And I know for a fact that you’re over here and wallowing in your own instead of doing something about it. Tell me I’m wrong,” the purple haired girl challenges, and Karolina swallows. 

There’s no way-

Nico couldn’t-

_But then why hasn’t she said anything?_

And then there’s a flash of a memory, not much, nothing concrete, just a fuzzy Nico whispering _I’m all yours_ into the darkness, and Karolina’s stomach does a somersault as her heart rate picks up as if it’s trying to outpace her racing thoughts. 

“You’re right…” she manages, barely over a whisper, as she tries to wrap her head around the fact that Nico feels the same way- Nico feels the same way and Karolina’s an idiot who confessed her love and then forgot that Nico said it back and pretended to not remember any of it just because she was scared. 

“Wait, what?” Gert asks, blinking rapidly in surprise. “I was expecting that to take longer.”

“I should talk to her, right? I have to talk to her,” Karolina blurts quickly, looking back and forth between the girl next to her and where Nico’s still dancing with their friends. 

“Yeah, go talk to her,” Gert grins, and Karolina nods, finishing the last of her soda and discarding the bottle before making her way determinedly onto the dance floor. 

She feels distinctly less confident by the time she actually reaches the girl. 

Deciding to do this was a lot easier when the possibility that the memory she was holding on to so tightly was nothing more than a drunken daydream hadn’t crossed her mind yet. 

But Gert said that Nico feels the same way. 

And since Karolina knows for a fact that Nico had stayed in their bed their entire first night at the hotel, having woken up repeatedly wrapped around her best friend, the timeline for her breakdown is definitely _after_ Karolina’s confession.

So maybe… Nico wasn’t upset because she didn’t want her to remember, but rather because she thought she didn’t? Or worse, because she thought that Karolina did remember, and didn’t want to?

Taking a deep breath to steady the butterflies currently running rampant in her stomach, the blonde catches Nico’s attention with a light hand on her arm, and the girl turns to her immediately, a grin spreading across her face, and Karolina knows what she has to do. 

No matter what the outcome, she owes it to both of them to talk this through, and she has to believe that if things don’t turn out quite how she wants them to, their friendship will be able to recover. 

“Hey,” Karolina greets with a distinctly nervous smile, but a smile nonetheless. “Can we talk for a minute?”

“Yeah, sure,” Nico nods in response. Her cheeks are pink from exertion and her face is slightly sweaty from dancing for hours, and _god_ is she beautiful. “What’s up?”

“Um,” Karolina hesitates, looking between their friends, Victor and Chase dancing happily, Gert, who had just returned to the rest of the group as well, pretending not to watch them out of the corner of her eye. “Not here,” she says, before reaching out a hand for Nico to take, and leading her through the crowd until she finds a relatively quiet area away from their friends. 

“Karrie, what’s going on?” Nico asks once they stop, her brow furrowing in concern. “Is something wrong?”

“No. I don’t think so. I think finally, for once, something’s _right_ ,” she answers, but Nico only looks more confused at her words. 

Karolina takes a deep breath, taking a second to figure out how to say this, because she really doesn’t want to mess this up. 

“Are you drunk?” she starts by asking, because first and foremost, she does not want a repeat of the last time she told this girl how she felt. 

“No,” Nico replies, shaking her head. “I had one drink but I switched to water when I realized you weren’t drinking. Being the only sober one’s never any fun.”

“Thank you,” Karolina all but whispers, swallowing nervously, and Nico’s eyes follow the movement. 

“So about the other night,” she starts, and then Nico’s looking away, fiddling with the hem of her dress and shifting uncomfortably. “I wanted to apologize.”

“Karolina, it’s fine, you don’t have to-” Nico starts to reply, but the blonde cuts her off. 

“I lied,” she says plainly, and Nico’s eyes snap to hers, brown meeting blue. “When I said that I only remembered bits and pieces of that night, I lied. I remember almost everything.”

“Oh,” the shorter girl replies, watery eyes quickly finding the floor between them. “Yeah, I know. When you said you regretted it, I figured. We don’t have to talk about it.”

And this isn’t going how it’s supposed to be going at all, and Karolina’s sick and tired of things being difficult between them, so she does the only thing she can think of. 

“Nico,” she says firmly, placing a gentle hand on the girl’s cheek and guiding her head back up until their eyes meet. “That’s what I’m trying to tell you. _I don’t regret it._ Not even a little,” she continues, and she can hear Nico’s breath catch in her throat but she can’t focus on that right now, she has to finish what she’s trying so desperately to say. “I just didn’t remember everything at first, and I was worried _you_ regretted it. And I know we probably have a lot to talk about, but I meant what I said. Nico, I’m in love with y-”

She’s cut off abruptly as warm lips are pressed against hers, and then arms are wrapping around her shoulders and her own hands end up on Nico’s hips, and they’re _kissing_ , and it’s everything she’s dreamt it would be and so, so much more all at once. 

She digs her fingers into Nico’s sides, anchoring herself because as amazing as this is, she can hardly believe that it’s actually happening. 

But then Nico steps forwards, even further into Karolina’s space, all but pressing herself entirely up against the blonde as she continues to kiss her hard, and Karolina decides that this must be real because nothing she’s imagined has ever felt this good. 

They break apart for air eventually, but it’s only for a second and then Nico’s lips are against hers again, her tongue swiping along the blonde’s bottom lip as she seeks entrance, which Karolina’s more than happy to give. 

She gets lost in the feeling of Nico’s body pressed against hers, Nico’s lips kissing her hungrily, Nico’s tongue inside her mouth, and she never wants it to end, not when this is everything she’s ever wanted. Because it is, even if it took her a while to realize it.

Eventually though, it does end, Nico pulling back and leaving them both panting as they try to catch their breaths. 

“I love you too,” the shorter girl breathes into the barely-there space between them, and Karolina wouldn’t be able to stop the grin that splits her face even if she wanted to. 

And then Nico’s leaning in to connect their lips again, just a quick kiss this time, but it still leaves Karolina short for breath and wanting more. 

“Sorry, you’re right,” the shorter girl says after she pulls away. “We should probably talk about this.”

“Come back to my hotel room?” Karolina offers, and only when Nico laughs in response does she realize how her offer sounded. 

“I mean, let’s go back to our hotel room? To talk?” she tries again, her cheeks pink, and Nico’s quick to nod in agreement. 

“We should just let everyone know we’re leaving,” the shorter girl suggests, but with just a glance towards their friends Karolina can already tell that that won’t be necessary. 

“I think they already know,” she mumbles, her cheeks blushing distinctly pinker as Nico turns around to see all three of their friends grinning in their direction and giving them matching thumbs up signs, causing her to laugh. 

—————

Neither girl talks for the walk back to the hotel, but it’s a comfortable kind of silence that falls between them as they walk hand in hand along the sidewalk. 

Every few seconds Karolina turns to look at the girl next to her, to enjoy just how perfect and amazing the evening’s turned out so far, and without fail Nico’s already looking in her direction every time. 

All too quickly, but at the same time the anticipation of what tonight might bring making it feel like forever, they’re back in their hotel room, sitting side by side on the couch across from the bed. 

“Alright, so where do we start?” Nico asks after a minute, breaking the silence and Karolina begrudgingly pulls her eyes away from where she had been watching Nico fiddle with the hem of her dress, resting even more teasingly high up her thighs now that she’s sitting. 

“We’re in love,” she answers with a grin once her eyes are back on the other girl’s face, and Nico matches the expression easily. 

“Yeah, we are,” she breathes in response as she leans over to once again capture the blonde’s lips with her own, and Karolina’s heart’s racing all over again. 

The kiss starts off slow and gentle, like Nico’s taking her sweet, sweet time and Karolina’s savouring every moment of it. 

But then Nico deepens the kiss, and Karolina can’t help but let out a whimper as their tongues meet, and just like that it’s like all of Nico’s earlier hunger from their first kiss back at the club has returned full force, and she’s suddenly kissing her hard and with an urgency that has Karolina’s toes curling. 

How this went from the softest, most relaxed kiss of her life into the absolute hottest, best thing she’s ever experienced she’s not entirely sure, but as Nico moves to climb into her lap, straddling the blonde and causing her own dress to ride even further up her thighs, Karolina’s not about to complain. 

Her hands find their way back to Nico’s hips, sliding down slightly to the curve of her ass as she holds her close, and this time it’s Nico who whimpers when Karolina squeezes lightly. 

The hands that had previously been tangled in her hair come down to her shoulders, pulling at the fabric they find there, and Nico only pulls away when Karolina makes no move to help her remove the offending flannel. 

“Take this off,” the shorter girl breathes, panting as she catches her breath, and Karolina moves to kiss down her jawline as she complies, Nico helping her to pull her arms out of the sleeves and throwing the shirt haphazardly over her shoulder as she returns her mouth to the blonde’s. 

Their kisses quickly turn messier and more desperate, all tongue and teeth as all Karolina can think about is getting closer to the girl on top of her. 

Nico moans then as she rolls her hips forwards, grinding herself against the blonde’s firm abs as she chases the release that Karolina so desperately wants to give her, the sound shooting straight between her legs and _fuck_ does she want to hear it again. 

Preferably as often as possible, because she’s not sure she’s ever seen anything as beautiful as a needy Nico desperately searching for friction, little whimpers escaping her lips as Karolina sucks a mark into her neck. 

“What do you need?” she breathes against the shorter girl’s skin once she pulls away, her fingers trailing teasingly just under the hem of Nico’s dress. 

“Karrie, I…” Nico starts, trailing off as she rolls her hips into Karolina again and another whimper leaves her mouth, before she slowly stills, pulling back far enough to look into the blonde’s eyes as her hands rest on the back of her neck. 

“Wait,” she manages, breathing heavily, and from this angle Karolina can clearly see the other girl’s flushed face, kiss-swollen lips, and blown pupils, and knowing that _she’s_ the one who did this to her is a pretty mind-blowing thought she decides, even as she stills her movements and prepares to stop should Nico ask. 

“You said you wanted to talk,” the shorter girl breathes, her eyes flitting between Karolina’s eyes and mouth as if it’s a struggle for her to pick which to focus on. “We should talk.”

And of course all Nico’s worried about, even now, is what Karolina wants, but right now talking is the furthest thing from her mind as she can feel Nico struggling to keep her hips from bucking forwards in search of contact. 

“I don’t want to talk,” she replies quickly, breathlessly, as she leans in towards the other girl until their lips are centimetres apart, but not closing the distance like she knows they both desperately want to. “Not right now. Not unless you want to.”

“Screw talking,” Nico laughs in response, though her laughter is more of a breathy exhale than anything else. “I just want you.”

And well. That’s definitely something Karolina can give her. 

And then Karolina’s closing what little distance is left between them, kissing Nico hard and messy and _perfect_. 

Not even a second later the shorter girl’s hips are rolling forwards again, and finally, _finally_ one of Karolina’s hands works its way below the hem of Nico’s dress, the other low on the girl’s hip to help steady her movements as she continues to grind against the blonde’s abs. 

Not wanting to muffle the sounds she’s so addicted to already, Karolina directs her attention from lips with deliciously smeared black lipstick to focus on Nico’s neck, biting lightly at the skin before soothing it with her tongue. At the same time, the hand under Nico’s dress deftly moves her underwear to the side, and both girls moan together as Karolina’s fingers find the slick heat waiting for her. 

“Karrie, please…” Nico all but begs, her hips bucking erratically as she tries to find more friction when there’s none to be had, her hands coming down to grip Karolina’s shoulders tightly, and the feeling of nails digging into her back sends a shiver of pleasure down her spine. But as much as she wants to find her own source of friction so they can chase their orgasms together, right now is about Nico and what she really wants to do is show the other girl how much she cares about her in the only way she can currently think of. 

Nodding against Nico’s neck, Karolina slowly slides a finger inside the other girl, her body more than ready and it’s not long until she’s added a second finger as well, and the moan the shorter girl lets out at the fullness has to be one of the best things Karolina’s ever heard. 

Her mind short-circuits for a solid minute then, reeling from the fact that she’s actually inside _Nico_ right now, and the sheer _rightness_ of the situation has her wondering exactly how it took her so long to realize that this girl in front of her is everything she’s ever wanted and more. 

And then Nico’s moving, and Karolina’s pulled from her thoughts as the girl raises herself up slightly before thrusting down onto the blonde’s fingers, quickly establishing a rhythm as she rides Karolina’s fingers towards her climax, and _oh_. 

Wow. 

Karolina blinks, stunned into some kind of Nico-induced stupor as she pulls back ever so slightly so she can just take in and appreciate the sight in front of her. 

Nico, her hair disheveled and her makeup smudged across her flushed face, eyes shut, mouth slightly open, and head tilted back in a mix of pleasure and concentration as she increases the pace of her thrusts and continues to fuck herself on Karolina’s fingers. 

It takes a few seconds for her to fully process the sight in front of her, and another few before her brain kicks in and she can do anything other than stare, but once it does she curls her fingers to meet Nico’s thrusts and she’s sure the breathy moans she’s met with are sounds she’s never, ever going to forget. 

Not long after that Karolina can tell that Nico’s getting close, her movements becoming more erratic as the noises she makes become increasingly desperate as she chases her release but never quite reaches it. 

“I’ve got you,” the blonde whispers in the other girl’s ear, leaning forwards to press hot, open mouthed kisses to whatever skin she can reach. “Come for me.”

And then she readjusts her hand, angling her thumb so that it rubs against Nico’s centre with every thrust, and just moments later Karolina can feel her tighten around her fingers, her inner walls spasming as she arches her back even farther, digs her nails into Karolina’s shoulders, and comes all over the blonde’s hand with cry. 

Keeping her fingers moving, Karolina helps Nico ride out wave after wave of pleasure until she finally collapses forwards, resting her forehead against the blonde’s shoulder, panting. 

They stay like that for a few minutes, Nico catching her breath as they just breathe together. 

And then Nico’s hand finds Karolina’s cheek, gently angling her head so she can reconnect their lips, pulling the blonde into a searing kiss that has her suddenly remembering the ache between her legs. 

“Oh god, I love you so much, Karrie,” Nico breathes when they pull apart, and Karolina can’t help but grin widely. She’s _never_ going to get tired of hearing that. 

“I love you too,” she replies, and Nico kisses her again, softly this time, filled with love. 

“Now what do you say we finally get out of these clothes and I return the favour?” the shorter girl asks, and Karolina’s more than happy to oblige, lifting Nico up as her legs wrap around the blonde’s waist. 

She sets Nico down on the bed gently, crawling over to settle between her legs as she pulls her in for another kiss, and yeah. 

She knows without a doubt that this is exactly where she's meant to be. 

—————

Karolina wakes up the next morning, her head clear and her body warmed by Nico’s naked form wrapped around her own, legs tangled under the sheets and the shorter girl’s arm snug around her waist. 

She decides then and there that sometimes even the bad things are worth remembering, no matter how hard, because they just might lead to something amazing.


End file.
